Your weekly source for analysis and insight from experts at the Brennan Center for Justice
The Briefing
This morning, the Senate began the process of debating and amending S. 1, the For the People Act. It’s not a moment too soon. The legislation passed the House in March, and in the months since, Republican elected state officials have been working overtime to roll back the simple, commonsense measures that allowed our country to conduct a safe and secure election this past November. S.1 may be the only thing that can stop them.
Take Florida: A day after Election Day, Gov. Ron DeSantis crowed that his state’s elections were “a model for the rest of the nation to follow.” But last week, he signed into law a bill that makes it harder for state residents to register to vote, to vote by mail, and to access secure ballot drop boxes. And he did this while banning most press from the signing ceremony and giving exclusive access to Fox News, which broadcast the spectacle live.
A day later, legislators in Texas also pounced, working in the middle of the night to advance legislation that bans election officials from sending mail ballot applications to registered voters if they didn’t request one. The bill also expands the power of partisan poll watchers. We’ve identified the introduction of similar legislation in at least 19 other states; it’s a recipe for exposing voters to harassment and intimidation for simply casting a ballot.
The rationale for these legislative assaults on the franchise is always some version of “election integrity.” Even the author of the Texas bill, State Rep. Briscoe Cain, admitted the November 3 election was free and fair. Why the need for this legislation then? “The purpose of this,” according to Cain, “is to make them even more safe and secure.”
But anyone not engaged in such political theatrics knows the real reason the nation is awash in over 360 bills to restrict voting rights. They stem from Trump’s Big Lie that the election was stolen from him and his continued inability to admit defeat. Even the politicians who acknowledge the election was free and fair, like Cain, are currying favor with Trump’s base for fear of the consequences of not joining in.
That’s why Congress must move quickly to pass the For the People Act. It would set a national baseline for voting rights that is popular with all voters — Democrats, independents, and, yes, Republicans.
All voters would receive absentee ballot applications and be able to vote by mail without onerous and unnecessary ID requirements. It would also require states to provide two weeks of early voting. And voters would have easy access to secure ballot drop boxes.
The legislation isn’t just about protecting Americans’ freedom to vote. It also will reduce corruption in government by preventing special interests from buying our elections.
These ideas will make voting less of a struggle for hard-working Americans and increase voters’ faith in our democracy. And despite claims to the contrary, it is not some federal takeover of elections: Under the Constitution’s Elections Clause, Congress has the power — and the responsibility — to ensure every American can participate in our democracy without jumping through ridiculous hoops intended to block their votes. It’s time the Senate puts that power to good use and passes S. 1.

 
Democracy
AL Drops Case to Exclude Undocumented People from Census
For nearly three years, Alabama has been pushing a wrongheaded lawsuit to leave out undocumented people from the population counts used to divvy up seats in the House. Now, in a victory for a fair and equitable census, the state has finally thrown in the towel. Census data released in April showing that Alabama wouldn’t lose a House seat was the final nail in the case’s coffin. Thomas Wolf and Madiba Dennie detail how that and other factors led to the lawsuit’s demise. // Read More
Biden’s New Immigration Judges
Immigration courts are run by the Justice Department and staffed by judges that are not confirmed by the Senate. This means the entire system is subject to executive branch control. After Trump's anti-immigrant presidency, advocates saw President Biden as a reformer, but Brennan Center Fellow Andrew Cohen says his first slate of immigration judge appointees is made up mostly of former prosecutors and officials from ICE or the military. “None appear to provide the sort of professional diversity — as defense attorneys or immigration advocates, for example — that is desperately needed if the nation’s immigration courts are going to begin to be something more than cruel deportation processing centers,” writes Cohen. // Read More
One Step Forward, One Back in Voting Rights Fight
In 2021, there has been a surge in voter suppression laws introduced in the states. Simultaneously, some state lawmakers have advanced measures to bolster voting rights, including through expanded voter registration opportunities and voting rights restoration for people with past felony convictions. “We are seeing evidence of there being something like two Americas,” said Myrna Pérez. “We see some states trying to make our elections more free, fair, and accessible, and some states that are putting as many barriers in front of the ballot box as possible.” // NBC Boston

 
Justice
Race, Mass Incarceration, and the Disastrous War on Drugs
The notorious 1994 crime bill featured the largest expansion of the federal death penalty in modern times, gutted habeas corpus, and put 100,000 new police officers on the streets, leading to an explosion in racial profiling. In the latest installment of the Brennan Center’s series on punitive excess, attorney and advocate Nkechi Taifa reflects on the law’s legacy and how a new narrative is emerging to replace the “tough-on-crime” mindset of the War on Drugs. “There must be an end to the racist policies and severe sentences the War on Drugs brought us,” writes Taifa. “We must not be content with piecemeal reform and baby-step progress.” // Read More

 
Constitution
Facebook Oversight Board’s Trump Decision Sets Up New Tests
The Facebook Oversight Board announced last week that it would uphold the company’s decision to bar Donald Trump from the platform after the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. This most recent decision demonstrates both the extent of the board’s authority and its limits, according to Faiza Patel and Mary Pat Dwyer. It is critical to pay attention to “how Facebook responds to the board’s recommendations,” they write, “particularly with respect to the review of its own role in spreading election misinformation leading to the January 6 attacks and its policy on high-reach users.” // Just Security

 
Coming Up
  • Tuesday, May 18 // 5:30 p.m.–6:45 p.m. ET
    The Supreme Court is supposed to dispense justice equally above the churn of politics. But politics has never been far from the Court. Join moderator Emily Bazelon of the New York Times Magazine and panelists Alicia Bannon (Brennan Center Democracy Program managing director), Aaron Tang (UC Davis School of Law professor), and Franita Tolson (USC Gould School of Law vice dean for faculty and academic affairs and professor) as they discuss whether traditions of the highest court should change. The panel will explore such questions as: Does lifetime tenure for nine justices offer the best construct for the Court? Why are there calls for reform now, and what are the merits of the various proposals being put forth? Is retaining the fixed structure of the Court essential to sustaining its legitimacy? RSVP today.
    This event is produced in partnership with Federal Hall.
  • Wednesdays, April 28–May 26 // 5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. ET
    This series of virtual forums sponsored by the public television station WNET will gather thought leaders to discuss the impact of white supremacy and state-backed racism on America today. Examining systemic racism in relation to voting rights, artificial intelligence and genetic data, journalism, antiracism, and cultural narrative, the events will focus on strategies and solidarity, with an understanding of history and eyes toward the future. Learn more.
    This event is produced in partnership with The WNET Group, parent to America’s flagship PBS station.
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News
  • Elizabeth Howard on the Arizona Legislature’s bogus election audit // MSNBC
  • Michael Li on the census reapportionment numbers // C-SPAN
  • Myrna Pérez on state voter suppression bills // Peacock
  • Yurij Rudensky on redistricting and Ohio’s only majority minority congressional district // Cleveland.com
  • Tom Wolf on whether the census undercounted Asian and Latino Americans // CNBC
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to reform, revitalize – and when necessary defend – our country’s systems of democracy and justice.

 
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